Exercising ball



Jan. 2, 1934. L, F. BRAZEAU 1,941,877

EXERCISING BALL Filed March 21, 1933 Z/OyH fi/dzeau flff a/wey Patented Jan. 2, 1934 7 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE .EXERCISING BALL Lloyd F. Brazeau, Portland, reg., assignor of one-fourth to Paul Palmblad, Portland, Greg. and one-fourth to Harry T. Bates, Portland, Greg.

Application March 21, 1933. Serial No. 661,964

1 Claim. (Cl. 27277) My invention relates to exercising and physical 3'3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated. culture balls. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of a The invention is comprised of an inflatable portion of the shell of the ball and a perspective ball. A valve is associated with the ball to adapt view of the opening disposed in the shell through 5 it for being readily inflated and deflated. A rewhich the valve is inserted and also a perspective acting element as an elastic rubber member is plan View of the fastening through which the adjustably secured at one end to the body of the end of the rubber thong is passed thereby to user as being placed about his neck the ball is render the ball captive. The fastening for the rendered captive. This means of adjustment of thong is inserted through the same slit in the 10 the rubber member at either end makes possible shell through which the valve is reached. the adjustment of the device to the desired length Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of a as indicated by the arm length of the user. portion of the strap illustrating the means for Striking the ball extends the elastic rubber securing the rubber thong to the strap. member which reacts to return the ball toward Fig. 6 is a perspective front view of a modified 15 the user. form of fastening attachment having a stretch- The primary purpose and object of my invenable member disposed therein that may be used tion is to provide a relatively active captive ball for securing the rubber thong to the body of that may be used for physical exercise and dethe user. velopment. Like reference characters refer to like parts 20 A still further object of my invention consists throughout the several views. in so constructing the device that it may be read- I use any suitable ball 1, preferably a ball of ily adjusted to meet the physical requirements good quality rubber having a relatively thick of the user. shell 2. I form a slit 3 in the shell and insert And a still further object of my invention cona valve 4 through the slit into an enlargement 25 sists in so constructing the device that it may 5 that is formed integral with the shell and that be made highly portable, the ready deflation is disposed upon the interior of the shell surface thereof making it possible to carry the ball in a and adjacent the slit. suitcase or bag, and the inflation of which may A pump may be directly attached to the valve be effected by lung pressure, making it usable for inflating the ball or a tube 6 may be attached 30 without the aid of a mechanical pump. to the valve head and tucked within the shell A still further object of my invention consists and pulled out for inflating and deflating the in so constructing the assembly that it may have ball. The inflation may be done through lung 2. long and useful life with practical freedom pressure by placing the end of the tube in the from mechanical annoyances. mouth. 35 With these and incidental objects in view, the I place an eyelet 7 in the shell of the ball. A

' invention consists in certain novel features of highly elastic rubber thong 8 is used for renderconstruction and combination of parts, the esing the ball captive. One end of the thong is sential elements of which are set forth in the adjustably secured to the ball through the use of pp C1him,andapreferred form of embodia fastener 9. The fastener may be made of' 4.9 ment of which is hereinafter shown with referleather, rubber, fibre or other Suitable materiaL ence to the drawing whlcheccompa and Spaced holes 10 and 11 are formed within the forms a part 9 P Spemficatlon' fastener. The holes are smaller in cross sec- In the drawing tional area than the normal cross sectional area Fig. l is a side View of the ball and strap and i of the rubber thong, which may be positioned 45 illustrates the ball secured to the strap through relative to the fastener and the fastener then 5. 3%i ggigg fifijg fi lg of a portion placed within the slit with the hole 11 in regisoi" the shell of the ball illustrating the means for allgnment Wlth the eyelet attaching the elastic rubber member to the ball. I have found best results are to be Obtained 50 This view is taken on 1ihe 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking with y exercising ball by p vidin a strap that in t direction i di t d, is of a length and material suitable for placement Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional side view of about the neck of the userpa d ast nin that portion of the shell of the ball in which the h les 13 ar disposed in one d of the strap and valve is located and to which the elastic rubber a buckle 14 is placed at the oppositely disposed" member is attached. This view is taken on line end. Spaced holes 15 and 16 are disposed withl OI in the strap and suitable metal eyelets 1'7 and 18 are positioned within the holes. A disc fastening means 19 having spaced holes 20 and 21 is provided. The cross sectional area of the holes 20 and 21 is smaller than the normal cross sectional area of the thong and in securing the thong to the strap to render the ball captive, the thong is threaded through the holes 21 and the hole 16 and is reversed then through holes 17 and 20. This provides suitable adjustment means for regulating the length of the thong to the arm length of the user. The strap 12 is placed about the neck of the user and the thong adjusted to co ordinate with the arm length of the user. The ball is then struck by the hand of the user in a manner analogous to that of striking a punching bag.

It may be found desirable with some classes of users to make the fastener on the body end of the rubber thong, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and

when so made the front portion 21 of the endless band may be made of leather. The rear portion 22 may be made of a stretchable material as live rubber and the two be joined together at 23 and 24 by any suitable means as by cementcombination of a cavity formed within the wall of the ball, and having an upper and lower wall, an enlargement formed integral with the inner wall of the cavity and extending downwardly therefrom, said upper wall of the cavity being slit for a portion of its length, and provided with an aperture in the remaining portion of its length, a tubular valve extending through the enlarged portion of the lower wall of the cavity and accessible through the slit portion of the upper wall.

' LLOYD F. BRAZEAU. 

